Page 76 of Snowed In
“Sorry,” Hannah squeaks, and I twist to see her standing in the doorway. “Are you guys alright?”
“No,” Christian snaps at the same time I say, “I’m fine.”
“Sorry,” she says again. “I have the pack.”
She holds it out to me as if I’m in charge, which I guess I kind of am with all my unverified internet knowledge.
“Knock before you enter,” Christian says, sounding like the grumpiest person alive. He swaps out the tissue as I pass the ice to him, wincing when the cold hits his face.
“Your brother’s waiting for you,” Hannah says to me. “I think he wants to go.”
“How are you guys getting home?” I ask Christian. “You can’t drive like this.”
“We’ll just—”
“I called Dad,” Hannah says, and Christian stiffens beside me.
Hannah notices it too. “What?”
“You calledDad?”
“Yeah,” she says, confused. “He always drives me home from the pub.”
“Perfect,” Christian bites out, and Hannah scowls at him. A scowl that vanishes as soon as she turns to me.
“I’ll go get your stuff,” she says and slips out of the room as quickly as she came.
“You’re only telling me now that you’ve got Daddy issues?” I ask, and he sighs.
“Some other time. But while we’re on the subject, you couldn’t knit me some more of those lamb scarves, could you?”
“It was hats. But anything for my boyfriend.”
“Throw in some adorable boots to be sure.”
I can’t help but smile. “Do you seriously think your dad’s going to be mad at you for this? You’re not a kid anymore.”
“He won’t be mad,” Christian says, standing carefully. “Just disappointed.”
“Ah.Thosekind of Daddy issues.”
The bleeding’s stopped now, and when he cleans up his face in the sink, he almost looks normal, if not for the still watery eyes.
We head back into the lounge, where everyone is still hanging around, waiting for us. To my surprise, Hannah stands with my coat, and she lurches forward with it as soon as she sees me.
“This is really pretty,” she says, and I pause, not entirely sure if she’s making fun of me or not.
“Thanks.”
“Where’s my coat?” Christian asks.
Hannah blinks. “Did you bring one?”
“Yes.”
It’s Cormac who has it, and he approaches with a string of further apologies as Aidan glues himself to my side like it wasn’t his plan to come here in the first place.
“You ready to go?”
